Euthanasia

Thanatos is the Greek god of death and is the son of Nyx (night) and Erebos (darkness) and is the twin brother of Hypnos (sleep). As god of death, Thanatos’s siblings are Geras (old age), Oizys (suffering), Moros (doom), Apate (deception) and Nemesis (revenge). The association of Thanatos is with all things grim and negative. After all what else is death to a mortal? But, then Thanatos also has lent its name to Euthanasia – where ‘eu’ stands for ‘good’ and Thanatos for death – thus implying ‘good death’. Sometimes Thanatos was associated with peaceful death, as Keres stood for violent deaths!

A recent Hindi movie has fuelled an ongoing debate on Euthanasia, or ‘mercy-killing’ in common parlance. Let us see how the subject is seen in our myths.

Hinduism is aware of Prayopavesa, which stands for starving to death, in Sanskrit, or death by giving up food and water. However, Prayopavesa can be performed only by someone who has no desire to live or no responsibilities left towards the family or society at large and at times in cases of terminal disease. The phrase ‘desire to live’ is quite dubious as a reason, but we will leave this for the time being. According to the scriptures, the Bhagvata Purana was narrated when King Parikshit was observing Prayopavesa. A similar practice is found amongst the Jains, which is known as Santhara.

Another reference to such an act is Mahaprasthana, i.e. great departure, which leads to death. This was undertaken by those who did not believe in taking lives (even if it was their own), and so one proceeded on Mahaprasthana, which would eventually lead to death, due to reasons, not known or not found out ever.

History is witness to such acts by the likes of Veer Savarkar and Vinobha Bhave. Veer Savarkar is supposed to have written in an article, titled - 'Atma-hatya or Deh-tyaag', saying that Suicide was taking one’s own life, but renouncing life when it was not capable of functioning properly was a different matter altogether. Buddha and Mahavira are also supposed to have ended their lives on their own.

Are there any specific references of embracing death (if we simplify the term Euthanasia) in our Mythology? According to Ramayana, Mother Earth parted under Sita’s feet and she merged in the ground. Could this fantastic idea be an euphemism for embracing death? It further states, that Kush tried to save his mother, but failed. Again Valmiki’s Ramayan mentions that Ram took ‘jal samadhi’ by simply walking into the river Sarayu, but when Hanuman decided to join him, Ram stopped him from doing so. This shows that somewhere, embracing death was limited to few people and not people at large.

Another obvious reference to embracing death is that of Bhishmapitamah in Mahabharat. Though he had the power to choose when to die, he chose it after much suffering. A bed of arrows could imply severe bodily trouble, and embracing death, when he could take it no more.

Some compare Euthanasia with Suicide, calling it Legal Suicide. However, it is here that I beg to differ. Suicide is a matter of impulse, which is never a well-thought out decision, by a loser (be it loss of faith, trust, or material). But Euthanasia is a well-thought out decision and at times gives a chance to make a mid-course correction (if it is going the Prayopavesa way for example). But Suicide does not give you such options. Also Euthanasia is taken only under cases of severe or terminal illness. It is important to mention that Euthanasia is carried out by a medical practitioner, which again is a key differentiator from Suicide. Euthanasia is not a stand-alone concept; there are other issues like Voluntary vs. Involuntary Euthanasia, Active vs. Passive Euthanasia, which is beyond the scope of this article.

The subject has moral and ethical connotations and the debate needs to continue. I am not making a case for Euthanasia, but was only trying to see if there are any references available, which is not a justification for the act though. I insist that I am not posturing here, but only putting some facts on the table, or should I say, on your screens!

Earthquakes

In earlier articles, we discussed mountains (26/08/10), volcanoes (31/08/10), eclipses (22/10/10), etc. Another important aspect of nature’s fury has been Earthquakes. Something as horrendous and destructive could not be outside the realm of people’s imagination or should I say creative justification? So how did our early civilisations see or understand Earthquakes? Let’s go through some of them –

According to the Greek Mythology, Poseidon was the Greek god of earthquakes and it was believed that whenever he was in a foul mood, he would strike the ground with his trident, which was his signature weapon, causing the earth to shake and lead to destruction.

The Greeks also had another myth, which said that wild winds would get trapped in cavers under the ground. When they struggled to come out, the struggle would lead to earthquakes. The Mexicans have a similar myth which says that the earthquakes occur when the devil and his friends rip apart the earth and try to come to earth through the cracks to create trouble on earth.

According to a Nordic Myth, earthquakes were the result of the suffering Loki, has to go through for the murder of his brother. When Loki, the god of trouble, killed Balder, who was the god of beauty, he was punished by being tied down in an underground cave where a poisonous serpent was placed above his head dripping poison. Loki’s wife stood by him with a bowl to catch the poison, but every time she would go to empty the bowl, the poison would fall on Loki’s head. Earthquakes occurred when Loki would try to jerk his head to avoid the poison from falling on his head.

The Japanese believe that earthquakes are caused by a giant catfish called Namazu, who lives in the mud beneath the earth and is restrained with a stone by the god Kashima. As and when the god lets his guard fall, Namazu thrashes itself, causing earthquakes.

According to a Hindu myth, the earth is held by four elephants who in turn stand on the back of a turtle. This turtle is further balanced on the head of a cobra. During the entire balancing act, if any one of the animals, move, understandably the earth would shake, leading to earthquakes! This myth has different versions, with the number of elephants varying, and sometimes the order of animals varying, but the logic is the same, and i.e. dis-balance.

Siberia has an interesting myth. They believe that the earth rests on a sled which is driven by a god by the name of Tuli. When the dogs that pull the sled stop to scratch themselves, as they have fleas, the earth shakes, leading to earthquakes.

People from Mozambique have a very simplistic view. They believe that the earth is a living creature and like all living beings, sometimes it too feels sick and has fever. It is during such fevers, when the earth catches the chill, it shivers, and we experience earthquakes!

Finally a myth which says earthquakes happen as fallout of love! According to a West African Myth, the earth is flat, and is held on one side by a mountain and on the other side by a giant. The giant’s wife holds the sky. The earth shakes, when the giant stops to hug his wife!

Every culture had its own way of understanding an earthquake. Its devastating effects on an unscientific mind have left its imprint in the form of such creative and lovely myths. However, a common thread amongst the majority of the myths across the world has also been that earthquakes occurred due to Gods anger and as a punishment for mankind. This was always the safest and for a god fearing community, this was never questioned. It is not surprising to find people saying even today, that god uses earthquakes and such disasters to reduce evil on earth. Again a relatively simplistic view of an otherwise mammoth problem.

Turkey

Last week (Nov 25, 2010) was Thanksgiving and no Thanksgiving feast is complete without feasting on a turkey. So what is the significance of a turkey and where did it come from?

Turkeys are native to America and were raised way back during the Aztecs and  the Mayan civilisation. The turkey has always been associated with Harvest and one of the native myths suggests that it was a turkey that gave corn seeds to a brother and sister and taught them the art of growing and harvesting. Turkeys besides being associated with harvests, are also supposed to have helped in the creation of the world, as per the native mythology.

Amongst the Mesoamericans (i.e. Mexico and Central America), a turkey has a very high status. It was believed that a turkey was the personification of the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca, who was a warrior and a magician who could see the future in his mirror. Tezcatlipoca was a deity with negative shades, but when he changed himself to Chalchiuhtotolin, which meant, a jewelled turkey, he became the god of good fortune. If Tezcatlipoca could lead humans to self-destruction, as Chalchiuhtotolin, he could rid them of all the ills that led them to destruction.

The turkey in mythology also represents the Sun god. According to Hopi creation myths, it was a male turkey that tried to raise the sun in the sky, and in the process burnt its head, which till today is bald!

A turkey is one animal whose every body part can be used. Besides its meat and eggs, its colourful feathers are used for decorations and its bones are used in making whistles.

Why turkey for Thanksgiving? Well in America, it was a native bird, easily available besides being considered lucky for all the above reasons. However, the eating of turkey spread in other parts of the world too, when turkeys were imported by other countries after trade-routes were opened. During the early 16^th century, the King of Spain had ordered that all returning ships should bring with it, five pairs of turkeys and thus started the practice of rearing turkesy outside America. Due to their ease of rearing and availability in abundance, they soon replaced geese during the celebratory feasts across Europe. Today a roast turkey is common for Christmas meals in UK too.  

According to a survey, on Thanksgiving, 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten!

2nd Anniversary of 26/11

Another anniversary of 26/11, another day of remembrance, another day to relive the tragedy, another day to light candles and lay flowers at the sites of the tragedy, another day for the khadi-clad to spit rhetoric, but 730 days of loss for the kith and kin of the dead. 

This was the day, when ten outsiders played havoc with our country and all of us watched helplessly hoping that the casualty figures would be wrong and there would be less people dead, or maimed. This was the day, when gun-wielding people from outside the country came in and created mayhem, but made heroes and martyrs out of some ordinary people. Where have they gone – the unnamed policeman, the doctor, the nurse, the waiter, the ambulance driver, the porter, the passenger, etc? Where have their contributions gone?

On this day, besides others, the lone killer alive is resting in the jail. His well-being is enquired, his comfort is taken care of, and his needs are catered to. After all, our legal system is so unbiased. Prior to the trial, we said, no person is guilty till proven and gave the killer a fair trial. After the trial, he has been proven guilty, but we still need to give him a fair chance to avoid the gallows. I am not an advocate of the theory of ‘an eye for an eye’, but aren’t we overdoing this business of fairness and that too to a cold-blooded murderer, who has till date not regretted his actions, or displayed even a false sense of remorse? Rather has been making demands on the system.

For once, let me ask – why are we being fair or rather, let me reframe the question, why are being so fair? After all, we are not bombing a foreign nation for an internal tragedy? But when we catch a rat and a few moles, then let us deal with them in a manner that the world realises that we mean business. If we are not a rogue-state then we are not a soft-nation too. If we don’t mess up with others, we don’t let others mess up with us too. This needs to be shown in action and not in poetic speeches in international forums.

For the powers-that-be, it’s time to show that India cares for her citizens and to the outsiders that India can dare. Don’t mess, have teeth, will bite!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a major festival in US and the neighbouring countries. The celebrations are set on the fourth Thursday of November when family and friends sit together for meals, and thank for all that they have. So what are the origins of this day?

Not much is known except that on this day, the Pilgrims of Plymouth, which is in the modern-day Massachusetts, had their first dinner with the native Wampanoag Indians, way back in 1621. What was so special about the dinner?

The legend goes that the Pilgrims who were new to the place were struggling to settle and first harsh winter saw some deaths and they were left with little food with them. The people were not ready or prepared for the harsh conditions and all they brought with them, seeds, etc. were not conducive for the region. It was then that Squanto, a native Wampanoag Indian, who taught the Pilgrims the art of planting and growing grains and seeds in the land which was rugged. Squanto is even supposed to have given them seeds, besides teaching them how to sow and harvest. The first harvest was cause for celebration, and the Pilgrims hosted a feast for Squanto and his tribe as a thanks giving feast. Similarly, the next year was a bigger and better harvest, leading to another big feast, and thus started the Thanksgiving feast. However, it took many more years for it to be declared a national holiday in US.

So the origin of Thanksgiving was a Harvest festival. Over time, it has earned different connotations to the festival. Earlier people sat together on this day to thank god for the bountiful harvest that they would have reaped, and today, they sit together and thank all for all that they have.

Thanksgiving has an association with the Greek Mythology, that of the Horn of Cornucopia or the Horn of Plenty. This is a part of all Thanksgiving feasts and is a horn shaped container, filled with goodies. The traditional cornucopia was a goat’s horn filled to the brim with fruits and grains, which is part of the harvest.

According to the Greek Mythology, Zeus was brought up by Amaltheia, a goat who suckled the baby Zeus in a cave, while he was in hiding till he was ready to come out in public. Once when baby Zeus was playing with Amaltheia, he broke one of her horns by accident. Zeus felt very sorry for doing this and returned the horn but with magical powers that he had, and it is said that whosoever had the magical horn would get all that s/he wished. The cornucopia is also a symbol of fertility, a sign of abundance bounty.

Finally, no mention of Thanksgiving is complete without a mention of the Turkey. On this day, having a turkey for the feast is a must. Why a turkey, well we will keep it for another day!